Garasino

New to the area, the phone book, Google, and Craigslist have been my local poker source. I'd answered an ad in the latter about this U District home game. Turned out it wasn't the poster's game, nor would he attend until after New Year's, but he passed my contact information along to the email-happy, telephone-shy, obvious Alpha, proud Replublican host, "The Colonel," for whom I have this:




From the Colonel:
Hey all ~ 66 great games so far - lets go again! RSVP now, don't be left out!Game Details for TUESDAY 12/30:

Our classic tourney: Two tables, 20 min. blinds, $30 buy-in/re-buy & $10-20 add-on. Deal at 7:40pm. On time bonus: 1000 free chips if you show up by 7:30pm. >>> RSVP with seat requests for this weeks game.

Yes I know I was freaking out because of the snow but the Garasino has survived thus far. Assuming there is no crazy down pour the Garasino will be able to host a game this week. Let me know if you want in.

The Colonel

...

I imagined Garasino = garage + casino, but, otherwise, had no expectations.

The Garasino is a small garage with an attached "lounge" fashioned from a fold-out shade canopy, walls made from weather resistant tarps. The Colonel reiterated throughout the night his intentions to improve the lounge where, currently, smokers and knocked-out players can pick from the pile of chairs if they want to have a seat in the cold.

I arrived early to receive a 1000 chip bonus and was met by a friendly group of mostly men in their early 20s - mid 30s. Smokers, smokers, and drinkers are obviously welcome. Apparently, so are Fantasy Football enthusiasts. I was there to play poker.

If you're lucky you'll get a red, padded chair; if not, it's folding metal for your ass. Two makeshift tables ("No elbows on the table! Ever!") took up most of the room which is heated by a propane space heater, so be sure to dress warm and, "Shut the fucking door!"

After some Fantasy Football confusion, twelve players sat down to a tournament. No poker confusion, as everything one would need to know (chip denominations, blind structure, etc.) is visibly posted on the wall. I don't understand the re-buy structure, but I'm sure I eventually would, though it wasn't apparent how the number of each player's re-buys are tracked. The prize structure was posted when re-buys were closed.

The 20 min blind levels would have been sufficient had the emphasis of the evening been on poker and not conversation and/ or the two football games televised in the room. Play was slowed to a hault several times due to noise or simply gross negligence. Naturally, the repeat offenders were the biggest complainers.

There were quite a few skilled players, and, of course, token luckboxes. There is no rake, nor are there refreshments.

Card room comfort: Not very
Average skill level: No serious threats
Buy in: Bring $80-100
Gaming supplies: Kem cards, really nice chips, the tables were sufficient but could use a couple of screws.


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